


Unreality (Mistakes were Made Remix)

by Neverever



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: Engagement, M/M, Memory Loss, Reality Bending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 10:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17806670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neverever/pseuds/Neverever
Summary: The day after a battle with a supervillain, Tony wakes up with fuzzy memories, mystery items in his bedroom, and an engagement ring in his closet. He has no idea what's going on and why Steve seems so central to the mystery.





	Unreality (Mistakes were Made Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Myosotis (Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17486435) by [PjCole](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PjCole/pseuds/PjCole). 



> This fic is a link in the Fruit Chain, part of the 2019 Cap-IM Relay Remix event.
> 
> This is a remix of [Myosotis (Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17486435) by PjCole and Shadowolf19 remixed my story into [Let The Memory Live Again](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17707595). I love these other stories -- please check out the whole chain.
> 
> Big thanks to my beta, arms_plutonic.

Tony woke up in his dimly lit bedroom. Too early in the morning for him, even if it was already mid-morning for everyone else. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he swung his feet off the bed. He felt like he had barely slept, his limbs stiff and chest tight. A vague memory of a fight the day before swirled around his mind.

“Hey --” He started to call out to someone. But the name died on his tongue before he could say it. 

He was more puzzled that he expected someone to be in his suite with him. He turned on the lights and had the odd feeling of being lost as he looked around his room. There had been someone here. Or usually was there. 

Tony had woken up one side of the bed, like he was leaving a space for someone else. He picked up the hardcover book on Truman from the nightstand on that empty side and found a drawing pad and pencils, a book on martial arts and chapstick in the drawer. Nothing he would read or use. More exploration of the room uncovered shirts and pants, both too large for him, and a pair of jeans covered in paint. There were more things he couldn’t explain -- the shaving kit in the bathroom, running shoes in a corner, yet another book on a table.

Just enough to show that someone stayed in his room occasionally, but didn’t live there with him. Tony felt very unsettled.

He dug through his bureau, looked under his bed, in every cabinet in his bathroom. He found a framed photograph of him and a broadly smiling Steve in tuxes and other photos of the team, always featuring Steve front and center. He unearthed dirty laundry with a few pairs of old-fashioned boxers he wouldn’t be caught dead in. Nothing odd or out of place in his closet, except for the engagement ring set out on a shelf. Tony did a double-take.

It was a simple black box with a beautiful silver ring set with blue and red stones. A man’s ring from the size of it. A simple engraving with “Together forever -- TS.” Well, that was completely useless. 

Who in the whole damn world did Tony love enough to propose to? Or plan to, since the ring was still in his closet? And he couldn’t remember their name?

“JARVIS?”

“Yes, sir?

“Who was I going to propose to?”

“I do not know, sir.”

“Is this even an engagement ring?”

“According to your records, you commissioned Tiffany to design a man’s engagement ring two months ago and you picked up the ring on Monday.”

“Right. That clears everything up.”

~~~~~

Tony found Clint sitting at the kitchen table looking slightly worse for wear. He felt a tinge of disappointment that Steve wasn’t there. “Where’s Cap?”

Head in hand, Clint grunted, “Running or something. He didn’t leave a note.” 

He grabbed a mug with a red, white and blue shield on it and poured coffee. Tony leaned against the counter, trying hard to remember who he was having a relationship with. He had nothing. 

“You’re thinking so hard there, Tony, I can see smoke coming out of your ears.” Clint shifted in his chair, moving stiffly like he was in pain. 

“Yeah, I’m trying to remember something.”

“Like whatever the hell we were involved in yesterday? Cause I’d really like to remember that.”

“Concussion?”

“Nah. I’ve had concussions before, and JARVIS says I don’t have any symptoms. But I have bruises everywhere, and this shiner on my right eye. I shouldn’t have listened to Cap about joining the Avengers if we’re going to be doing this all the time.”

“A team to handle the extraordinary --” Tony said. That’s what Steve had said to Clint to get him to join the Avengers a couple of months ago.

“Hey, we need to do something about that kid who is sitting in the living room.”

“What kid?”

“Name’s Sam and he’s wondering how he ended up here. It’s supposed to be his first week at SHIELD Academy.”

“Does he need cab fare?”

Clint shook his head. “He woke up here. In a room that looks like his bedroom. Why would he have a bedroom in the Tower?”

~~~~~

Everything was off kilter. 

“I’ll call Fury and sort this out,” Natasha said to Tony. “What should we do with the kid here?”

Sam replies indignantly, “Hey, I can help. Show me a computer.”

Tony sucked on his teeth as he considered Sam’s request. They didn’t know anything about him. He turned to Natasha, who appeared equally puzzled.

“What is this game? Why is it half-completed?” Thor complained from the couch. “I do not remember this.”

Hulk snorted. “Quit complaining just because I’m beating you, goldilocks.”

“It is not that. I do not remember this game at all and yet there it is. It is very confounding.”

“Where’s Steve?” Tony asked.

“Showering,” Natasha told him.

“Wait -- can I meet Captain America?” Sam excitedly asked. “I’ve always wanted to -- he spoke at the Academy last week.”

~~~~~

Tony went up to Cap’s suite, best suite in the tower besides his own. He stopped himself before he walked into the suite without knocking. Which was utterly weird that he’d think he could just walk in on the guy like that. 

“Uh, Cap? Can I come in?”

Steve answered the door, looking as gorgeous as he ever did. Freshly showered, hair a little damp, in a white t-shirt and jeans, he took Tony’s breath away. “Tony?”

He rubbed the back of his neck as Steve let him into his suite. “So, um, the team wants to know if you’ve noticed anything strange or out of place.” Tony glanced around Steve’s room. The room seemed unusually decorated for someone who had moved in only a couple of months ago. Paintings hung on the wall, medals and books carefully displayed on a low bookcase, flag hung over the bed, a framed photograph of the team on the nightstand. 

“Strange?”

Tony snatched his hand back from picking up a picture of Steve and Tony in front of a roller coaster from an end table. He had questions about that photo. “Yeah, you know -- like newspapers with dates from the future -- or like feeling like you’re missing something. Have you met Sam? He just showed up in the tower ….”

“Sam lives across the hall from me,” Steve said.

“So you know Sam? But Sam says he goes to SHIELD Academy, so why would you know him?”

Steve stepped closer to Tony, lifted his hand, and then dropped it, hand clenched in a fist. “Tony -- don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten what we meant to each other --”

Tony froze. Again, he had all these thoughts and memories in his head, just out of reach, and he couldn’t place them or connect them. He’d spent time in this room, on that couch, watching baseball. If he walked into the bathroom, he’d know where Steve kept his towels, know where the toilet paper was stowed. He knew he would find his bathrobe hung up in the closet and a pair of slippers and a spare tablet.

If he stood closer to Steve, the fleeting memories felt stronger, more real. Standing farther away, he lost any shred of memory. It made his genius head hurt. “We should go out for for an early lunch, grab pizza or something,” he suggested. 

“Just us?”

“For the team. We need to figure this out.” Tony thought he saw disappointment cross Steve’s face the second he said ‘team.’ 

“Okay.”

~~~~~

Tony was a little weirded out when he discovered that the local pizza place had a usual order for the Avengers on file and he didn’t need the toughly-negotiated list Steve had hammered out when he placed the order. 

“We’ve ordered from there before,” he said.

“Maybe we have,” Clint said.

“But we moved here two months ago and I don’t remember any pizza parties,” Natasha pointed out. “Tony, I talked to Fury. All he said was that Sam is our problem now and he won’t take him back.”

“Really? Nothing else?”

“Nope. Sam has the Tower codes and all the passwords -- like he’s supposed to be here.”

“Hey, I’m sitting right here,” Sam piped up. “And that’s my favorite pizza. Gimme a slice.”

Deflated, Steve sat at an end of the table and picked at his pizza. “We have pizza all the time. Don’t you remember?” He looked searchingly at each of the team, but only got blank looks in return. Tony felt bad for him.

“Great, just what we need, Cap losing it,” Clint said. 

“Stand next to Steve. Tell me what happens,” Tony urged.

Groaning, Clint stood up and walked next to Steve. “Like this?”

“Anything?”

Clint frowned and walked away from Steve and then back again. “That’s -- that’s freaky.”

“Yeah, happened to me earlier.”

Sam produced a notebook. Clint looked at the notebook like it was a snake. “I knew you were going to do that. I don’t know why, Bird Boy --”

“Bird Boy,” Sam repeated. “You’ve called me that before.”

Steve perked up. “You remember now?”

Sam shook his head. “It’s not like it’s an actual memory -- more like muscle memory. It feels familiar, but it’s not something I’d say is actually familiar.” He started writing in the notebook. He showed the notes to Tony. “I’ve been recording observations.”

“Good boy.”

Steve appealed to Tony, turning his gorgeous eyes to him. And Tony lost himself briefly in those eyes, wondering if he had ever asked Steve out. He had to have, considering how fond he was of Steve and the broad smile on Tony’s face.

“When did that start? Tony’s big crush on Steve? Did he always have it?” Clint muttered at Natasha, who shushed him.

“We don’t talk about it, remember?”

“We should run some tests -- see why people have odd reactions around Cap,” Sam said cheerfully.

“He’s your problem now,” Natasha said.

Tony shoved back from the table. “You and me, Sam, we’re going to hit the lab. Steve?”

Steve shrugged. “Fine, Clint, Nat, let’s look at some footage from the tower security cameras in case we can find something there.”

“I will investigate for magic, in case my brother is involved,” Thor added.

~~~~~

Tony set Sam up at a workstation. Sam gleefully started to compile data from the team. Meanwhile, Tony racked his brain about Steve. So many odd things -- the pictures in Steve’s suite, the way that Steve kept sneaking desperate looks at Tony. Like he was expecting something from Tony.

He tapped a pencil against his lips. “What do you have, kid genius?” 

“I found that we all had bruises and other medical issues that indicate that we were all in a battle recently. Except for Cap --”

“Steve heals fast.” Steve had gotten beat up too, a random thought prompted. He’d gone straight to his suite for a shower, promising to come down to the workshop after Tony and Nat finished up there. What did Tony have to finish up in the workshop that he needed Nat’s help with?

Excited, Sam jumped up. “I’m going to interview the other team members -- find out anything else in common.” He grabbed a tablet. “Huh, I don’t know why I remember that was there.”

Tony waved him off. “Fine, go ahead. I’ll be here, trying to reconstruct the past couple of days.” He also had the mystery of why Clint thought he had a crush on Steve. He did. He just didn’t think it was that obvious.

~~~~~

Tony spent the next four hours in the the workshop. But somehow he wasn’t surprised when Steve popped up with a carafe of coffee and warmed-up pizza. Like Tony expected Steve to do that, like it was their special thing.

He smiled at Steve and the words tumbled out before he understood what he was saying. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, darling.”

Steve sat down next to him. “Really?”

Tony creased his forehead and turned away from the computers. His heart clenched a little when he saw how hopeful Steve was. Then Steve’s bottom lip trembled, until Steve schooled his features into a more stoic frame. “You don’t remember, do you?” he finally asked.

“There’s something. I feel more than know, Steve.”

Anguished, Steve jumped to his feet and paced. “Tony -- you have to remember, you can’t have forgotten --” He touched Tony’s arm, silently pleading for any sign that Tony understood.

Flashes filled Tony’s mind. The photo of him and Steve in Steve’s room was taken at Disney World, last summer when the team kicked them out of the tower for a week saying that even workaholics take vacations on occasion. The pair of jeans covered in paint in the corner of his closet were Steve’s -- left there when Tony lured Steve away from his easel for a shower for two in his suite, where Tony put his back out and Steve fed him in bed for two days. The books, the shaving kit, the boots -- all Steve’s because Steve stayed overnight, but didn’t really live with him.

Tony was going to change that when he asked Steve to marry him. At their favorite restaurant, Il Ghiottone, after the carbonara that Steve tended to inhale and before the tiramisu Tony stole bites of from Steve.

He loved Steve more than he had ever loved anything or anyone else.

“Steve,” he exhaled as he launched himself into Steve’s arms. “I can’t believe I forgot --”

“Thank god, you remember.” Steve held Tony tightly, burying his face into Tony’s hair. “I’ve been going crazy -- at first it was hazy, the memories, nothing was right, but then it all snapped into place and I remembered and no one else did and you all thought I was making it up. But I have you now.”

Tony squeezed Steve and kissed any part of Steve he could reach. “Yeah, you have me now. Not ever letting go.” 

“I felt lost without you.”

“Nice that was I falling in love with you again.”

Steve ran his fingers through Tony’s hair and lifted his chin. “You were?” he said, with an amused look.

“Why wouldn’t I? -- you have no idea what you do to me.”

Then Tony narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of the little cleaner robots scurrying around the workshop as he looked over Steve’s shoulder. “That’s odd.” Wriggling out of Steve’s arms, he followed the trail of robots to a side door. “I don’t remember this -- ohh.”

“What, Tony?” Steve asked behind him.

Tony jiggled the handle of the room. “JARVIS?”

“On it, sir.”

The door swung open to reveal a small room with locked safe in the middle. Tony flipped a few switches. “Yep. That’s the problem, right there,” Tony announced pointing at the safe.

“Infinity stones,” Steve said. “How?”

“I remember now -- that fight with the revived Black Order. They had attacked the Guardians and stole one of the stones -- the reality stone.”

Steve nodded as he now remembered the events of a few days ago. “We brought it here to keep it locked up.”

“I locked the safe and said I wished we hadn’t ever heard of the infinity stones. The stones have some will of their own, I guess and the reality stone erased our memories.”

“But didn’t do a complete reset of reality --”

“Which is why we forgot the stones and lost our memories -- but nothing else changed. Leading to cognitive dissonance when we found things that didn’t match with our new reality. Except you -- we know from our past fights with Thanos, the reality stone affects you differently, so that’s why you remembered first.”

“Did we call the Guardians?”

Tony shook his head. “I don’t think so -- they’d be here now.”

Steve gave the safe the stinkeye, given his dislike of infinity stones. “First thing, we have to do that.”

“Second, we have to get Natasha to wait for them.”

“That won’t be hard. She’s going to want the stone gone too.”

“Third, I’m taking you out to Il Ghiottone for dinner.”

“Tony -- we’ve got --”

“Nope. I’m standing my ground on this one -- I’m taking you out for the dinner of your life at our favorite restaurant or else.”

Steve put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Tony, we have to restore the team’s memories first, then we go to dinner, if you insist.”

“Oh, yeah, we should probably do that before we call the Guardians.”

Two hours later, the Guardians were on the way for the stone, the team was back in their regular routines of movie watching and playing video games, and Tony waited by the Avengers suite front door for Steve, the ring burning a hole in his pocket.

Everything was back on track, he thought with a smile, when a freshly washed and pressed Steve arrived. “Ready to go?” Steve asked.

“You bet.” Tony replied as he took Steve’s hand, ready for the rest of their lives.


End file.
